Runelords 24.0 - The Road to Fort Rannick
Equipping themselves and preparing for the task of freeing Fort Rannick from its ogre occupation, the adventurers and the Black Arrows discussed their plan. It was decided that they would sneak around the edge of the mountain cliff face that formed a natural wall around the northern and western sides of the fort; from there, a secret tunnel that opened up behind the waterfall that fed the moat protecting the south and east facing walls would let them inside. Once in, and past the shocker lizards that nested in the tunnels, they would split into two groups: one would stay on the grounds and cause a distraction, preying on any ogres that were in the open or in the auxiliary buildings, and the second would sneak into the fort itself, finding and assassinating the ogre chieftain and the red-haired mastermind. Without leadership, the group hoped that the ogres would fall back to in-fighting, and if they could keep their presence hidden, the notion that they themselves were killing each other might go far in doing the Black Arrows' work for them. Setting out, the group of nine took some time to find some of a particular bark in the forest on their way, the smoke of which was known to repel the shocker lizards. As they neared the fort, they found the corpses of large game, including humans, skewered on trees in a macabre display. Making their way to the clearing at the edge of the moat, the group spotted only one sentry: an ogre who was polishing a skull and standing by the southern gate. Bodies of people and horses lay strewn all up and down the river, and the decay had made filth of the water, churned by the waterfall. Using camouflage, the group snuck towards the waterfall's edge. However, Eamon was particularly loud, and the ogre's attention was piqued. When they made it to the edge, Virgil cast an illusion that covered their movement as everyone climbed or jumped into the tunnel mouth. The ogre sauntered closer to investigate, but his eyes did not pierce the illusion, and the group disappeared into the tunnel. Inside, they found the secret armory of the Black Arrows undisturbed. A pair of shocker lizards milled about there; the presence of the intruders got their backs up, but Jack, a ranger, calmed them and convinced them to back away deeper into the tunnels. Moving through the dark tunnels, they came to a deep pit with a rickety bridge. Eschewing the weak-looking rope bridge, the proficient climbers Khyrralien and Aldern carried Virgil and Luna respectively. Virgil offered for the two of them to carry everyone over, which made Aldern particularly uncomfortable; the two undead opted to explore the chasm rather than have anyone touch Foxglove. The Black Arrows were not keen on being carried over at any rate, and each one made their way across the bridge, either by walking carefully or just by jumping. Eamon allowed Khyr to carry him, thoughts of his incident on the stairs a few days ago fresh in his mind. At the bottom of the chasm, which wasn't particularly deep, Luna and Aldern found a small skeleton, likely belonging to a dwarf who had fallen long ago. Virgil called down to them to loot the body, which neither was comfortable with. However, Luna argued that the body should be brought back for internment, especially seeing as how all of the dead at Fort Rannick would need the same soon anyway; Foxglove begrudgingly agreed, though he was visibly against disturbing the body at all. Luna packed the body away respectfully in its own backpack, hiding the gemstones it had held deep within the bag, not wanting to be a graverobber. However, the sword that the unlucky spelunker carried she did give over to Virgil to divert his interest, justifying that at least it was a tool that should see use. The shortsword was apparently of very fine make and material, made of mithril, and distracted the others from inquiring what else the body had in its possession. Leaving the body bag in the tunnel for later, the group pressed on to the tunnel exit. Category:Rise of the Runelords